Surviving Overseas – Part 2: Renting/Flatting

In this second post of the 'Surviving Overseas' series, I cover a topic that is common for us independent university students out there – Finding a place to live for a year or the whole duration of your degree. Most students will shift homes every year, while a few will stay at the same accomodation for the entire length of their degree. Moving so often could be because of: insulation is not warm enough (seasonal countries), falling out or change in housemates, can't afford the current rent, or just want to move closer to the university to cut on commute time or cost. 

First-year students, except for locals, are usually arranged by the university to stay in a university-owned dormitories (or colleges, as known in New Zealand) to ease concerns of accomodation and meals. The downside is that students have to fork out more to pay for accomodation + meals provided by the university than if they were staying on their own. I have heard friends and classmates who mentioned that they prepay for three meals per day; if you miss any of the meals, you are not refunded and there's no replacement meals for you as meals are served at fixed time slots throughout the day. Meal plans and payments varies from university to university; friends from Canada and America told me that their meal money (amount stated by their university) is loaded into their student card, so they only use their money if they buy any food or drink from the university's cafeteria. They are also entitled to refunds of any unused money at the end of the year, but often the funds will run out long before then. 

Because the university-owned dorms/colleges only have so many rooms available, priority is given to the next batch of first-years. So what are the factors do you have to take into consideration when you are on the hunt? 

#1 – Know your budget 

It's important to know or estimate how much you can spend on rent and daily expenses before you sign that rental agreement. Rent is paid weekly, not monthly; depending on the agreement your rent may or may not be inclusive of utility expenses. Are you solely depending on allowance, or will you be footing some of the expenses with income earned from your part-time job? 

The rent you pay will depend on several factors. Generally, a room further away from the city centre and/or university campus will be cheaper than a place that is a mere 5-minute walk away from the campus. But if you don't have personal transportation (e.g. car, skateboard, bicycle) then you might spend extra on both commute cost (such as taking the bus) and/or time like leaving home early to make it to campus on foot. A well-furnished room costs more in rent than a bare room, but you will have to spend more on furnishing the cheaper, bare room. 

Another important factor to consider is utility bills. Utility bills include electricity, water (applicable in some countries), and broadband. Rents that are slightly costlier may include one or all of these utility bills; if your rent doesn't, it is understood that you will be responsible for contacting the respective power/water/broadband companies to register and sign a contract for using their services at your new place. These may end up costing more than having an utility-inclusive rental, unless you plan to spend even the weekends in the university library to save on the utility – which only work for electricity and/or water, since you only pay what you used, unlike broadband.

#2 – Finding the right place

Moving from a university dormitory to finding your own place may be challenging and frantic, especially when the season of room hunting comes around. In New Zealand this happens in July/August as students begin their second semester, where landlords and landladies begin to put up rental advertisements and arranging appointments for room viewing. So first-years, start taking down notes on your current dormitory lifestyles, because this will become a list of what you are looking for in your future home-to-be. 

You should also note that your list should include both your room and overall home. If you're not keen on sharing bathrooms, find a room that comes with its private bathroom. If you know that your lectures are mostly at one end of the campus, find a room that is near that end so even if you're late, you can still make it in time. If you're intending to rent a place with a few of your friends, search to rent a home with a few bedrooms rather than individual rooms; expand and alter your list as you progress with the search. 

If you're in a country that has four seasons, check if the house and/or room is well-insulated. A well-insulated home will use less heating, therefore reducing your utility expenses. Note that old houses are usually not up to the insulation standards set by the government, so keep that in mind as a question to ask the landlord. Make an appointment with the landlord or rental agent to view the available rentals, and bring your list along so you can check if the rental is up to your liking.

A room that has the bare minimum of furnitures will be favourable to someone that likes to decorate their own room, and often you can get cheaper furnitures from second-hand stores or people who are reselling their items on trading groups in Facebook. But do be aware that you will have to consider moving expenses should you decide to move to another place the following year. In summary, you should only sign a contract when the place you're moving in meets all (or if not most) of your criteria.

#3 – Be considerate

Whether you're living with friends or strangers, it is important to be considerate to each other. Exchange phone numbers or set up a messenger group to keep the communication channels open. Clean up after yourself after you used the kitchen; if you don't want to handle dirty microwaves, who would want to handle yours? Don't hoard the washing machine and/or the dryer for more than a day – especially when you live with 5 other people who need to do their washing too. 

Personal story: I share a house with 4 other people who I knew after I moved in. In New Zealand we will say that I flat with 4 other people, and they are referred to as my flatmates. But anyway, we didn't set up any means of communication other than if we happen to meet each other. This became a problem when one of my flatmates kept hoarding the washing machine and the dryer for two days, and the others had to keep checking to see if that flatmate had taken out their clothes. I knew this because my room is on the same level as the common area, so I heard the frequent opening and closing of the laundry doors. 

Remember that we are all humans, and most of us are students who have different schedules thanks to our different lifestyles. Once you set up a communication channel, start chatting and discussing on the important stuff – like alternating taking out the trash on a weekly basis, who really needs to use the laundry on Monday night and many others. Consider informing your flatmates if you're inviting people over, especially if you're hosting a party to celebrate the end of finals. In summary: be nice to your flatmates!!

#4 – About landlords

Understandably most of us don't interact much with our landlords. But when something major happens, talk to your landlord! I had a personal incident where I woke up in the wee hours of the morning to the sound of breaking glass, followed by loud laughter. It turned out that a group of drunk guys had thrown a traffic cone over the fence and nailed my window. Thankfully, because of the double-insulation, the window glass was only shattered on its outer layer, leaving the inner layer intact. I immediately informed my landlord via email, including photos of the cone and the broken glass as proof. My landlord sent a repairman to look over it and didn't charge me for the bill – because I had the proof that I did not cause the damage. 

Even if you had accidentally damage something in your room or the flat, you have the responsibility to inform your landlord about the incident. This may or may not end up with you having to foot the repair bill, but even so you should because your landlord holds your deposit. That's right, when you first sign the contract, you are required to put down a deposit which the landlord will hold onto until the day you decide to not renew your contract. Besides, who wants to find out that someone had broken your belonging and didn't even bother to tell you, much less find means to repair the damage done? 

If you are going through some financial difficulty, come clean with your landlord and explain your situation. It's better than missing rent and end up being on the wrong side with your landlord because of miscommunication. Yes, there are stories of bad landlords out there, but just as there are good and bad tenants, there are also landlords that are reasonable and may offer some form of solution. 

So be an honest person who intends to live in peace with others; you don't have to be religious to know that what goes around comes back around like a boomerang. The boomerang may not come back immediately, but it will eventually come back. 

Final remarks

While my advice stems from personal experience, you should also seek advice from peers or seniors on their experience with flatting. They might be able to help as their experience would be specific to your situation, in contrast to my post that is tailored to the New Zealand field, specifically Otago. You may have different opinions from me, and that's okay! We're all different; for instance, I personally wouldn't flat with my friends out of consideration for our friendship, but others might want to deepen their bond and so choose to flat together. All in all, I wish you the best of luck in your hunt for your new home! 

(And if you're stuck with a bad home and/or bad flatmates, I hope you have the strength to stay on until your rental agreement is up.) 

See you in the next post!

~ RieRie